Second year Mathematics student wins prestigious national award
Friday, 28 April 2017
Please join us in congratulating second year BSC Mathematics student Connor Vidal-Cocker on being named Mathematics, Economics and Finance Undergraduate of the Year at the TARGETjobs Undergraduate of the Year awards.
Connor fought off tough competition from almost 3,500 students from universities across the country for the chance to win one of 12 industry sponsored awards. Connor’s category, Mathematics, Economics and Finance Undergraduate of the Year, was sponsored by global energy company Gazprom.
To enter, applicants had to undergo a rigorous three-stage assessment process consisting of an initial application, thorough online tests, and an in-person assessment with the sponsor for each respective award category.
The winners were announced at an awards ceremony in Canary Wharf, hosted by writer and television presenter Konnie Huq, last Friday (21 April).
As a prize for winning the award, Connor will do a 10 week work placement in Gazprom’s marketing and trading team this summer, spending one week at the company’s Singapore branch.
Connor said: “I am honoured to have received this award. The experience I have gained throughout the whole process has been amazing.
“I look forward to starting my work placement with Gazprom Marketing & Trading over the summer and, in particular, visiting their branch in Singapore. I am excited to be able to apply the skills I have learnt in my time at the University of Reading.
“I applied to the award because I wanted my CV to stand out. Hopefully winning will enable me to really kick start my career. I would like to say a special thank you to Claire Newbold in the Mathematics Department, as she has been incredibly supportive of me throughout the process.”
Dr Stephen Langdon, Head of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, said: "We'd like to offer our warmest congratulations to Connor for this impressive achievement. We are extremely enthusiastic about supporting our students in securing placement opportunities, so it's particularly pleasing to see that this award will offer Connor the chance to undertake what I'm sure will be a very interesting placement this summer."